Strong wrestled his first match for the Independent Professional Wrestling promotion, competing in a twenty-man cruiserweightBattle royal. He was initially one-third of a stable known as "Risk Factor" with The Kamikaze Kid and Kid Lethal before he formed a tag team with his trainee and kayfabe brother, Sedrick Strong. The Strong Brothers defeated Wrongful Death (Naphtali and Dagon Briggs) for the IPW Tag Team Championship on June 28, 2002 in St. Petersburg, Florida. They held the title until September 20, when they lost to Naturally Marvelous (Scoot Andrews and Mike Sullivan) in a steel cage match in which Roderick suffered a concussion.[3][6][7]

After Sedrick cost the Strong Brothers a number of matches, Roderick turnedheel on February 8, 2003, betraying Sedrick and aligning himself with the Alliance of Defiance, a dominant heel stable.[8]

Strong began punctuating his ring style with stiff offense while acting as the enforcer of Generation Next. In November 2004 he formed a regular tag team with Evans, and on December 26 he, Evans, and Aries threw Shelley out of the group when he refused to resign as leader. Strong and Evans continued to team throughout early-2005, but were unable to win the ROH Tag Team Championship. On July 9, 2005, at Escape from New York, Strong faced CM Punk for the ROH World Championship, but was defeated. On September 24 at 2005 Survival of the Fittest, Strong defeated Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, Generation Next teammate Austin Aries, and Colt Cabana to win the titular event, thus earning himself another shot at the ROH World Championship in the future.[1][6]

Strong lost to ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson on October 29 in Woodbridge, Connecticut and on November 5 in Chicago, with the match going over 45 minutes. On March 31 in Chicago, Strong faced Bryan Danielson a third time for the ROH World Championship, with a 60-minute time limit, but Roderick came up short with Danielson rolling up Strong at the 56 minute mark for the victory.[1]

The No Remorse Corps went on to feud with Aries' new faction The Resilience. Rocky Romero joined the NRC, while Matt Cross and Erick Stevens joined The Resilience. Though the NRC dominated the feud for the most part, the feud's end came with Strong losing matches to Aries at both Undeniable and Reckless Abandon in a 30-minute Iron Man match.

Strong then began to feud with Stevens over the FIP title. Strong lost the title to Stevens at Final Battle 2007, but won it back at FIP Redefined. He continued to hold onto the belt in several matches with Stevens, and won a Fight Without Honor against Stevens at ROH Respect is Earned II by superplexing Stevens off a ladder through two tables. However, he lost the FIP title to Stevens at FIP Hot Summer Nights 2008 in a Dog Collar match to end their feud.

At Respect is Earned II, Davey Richards turned on Strong to join Sweet and Sour Inc. Since then Strong has been feuding with the group, often being on the losing side of matches. On an episode of ROH on HDNet, Strong was chosen as a judge for the Tyler Black/Austin Aries match for the ROH World Title on February 13. Strong only became the judge, because Black promised him a Title match, after he wins the belt from Aries.

On April 1 at Honor Takes Center Stage, Strong faced Richards once again in a rematch from their encounter at Final Battle. This time, Richards defeated Strong after making him submit to an Ankle Lock. The following night, on the second night of the iPPV, Strong lost again, this time to El Generico. After the match, Strong's teammate from the House of Truth, Michael Elgin, attacked Generico until Colt Cabana made the save. Christopher Daniels also came out, presumably to assist fellow babyfaces Cabana and Generico, but turned heel after hitting Generico with the Book of Truth and hitting Cabana with the Angel's Wings, thus joining the House of Truth. On August 13 at the first ever TV tapings of Ring Of Honor Wrestling under Sinclair Broadcasting Group Strong received another shot at the ROH world title against Davey Richards but was unsuccessful. On March 31, 2012, at Showdown in the Sun, Strong defeated Jay Lethal to win the ROH World Television Championship, in the process becoming the second person to win the ROH Triple Crown.[21] On June 29, Strong lost the title to Adam Cole.[22] After defeating former stablemate Michael Elgin on December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Strong quit the House of Truth.[23] On March 2, 2013 at the 11th Anniversary Show, Strong would end his feud with Elgin, being defeated in a Two out of three falls match.

Throughout 2013, Strong won numerous singles matches and in mid-2013, began a friendly rivalry with Adam Cole with both men trading victories. After the ROH World Championship was vacated, Strong entered a tournament to determine the new champion as a face, defeating Matt Taven in his first round match on August 3. On August 17, Strong was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Kevin Steen. On October 5, Strong challenged tournament winner and ROH World Champion, Adam Cole, in a No Disqualification, No Count Out match, but would come up short. In late 2013, Strong would dub the name "Mr. Ring of Honor" for his consistent stint in ROH. On December 14, 2013 at Final Battle 2013, Roderick Strong would turn heel with B.J. Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs, by attacking Eddie Edwards, citing that they were sick of people being celebrated when they walk out of ROH, while the constants in ROH would go unappreciated. This villainous group is known as The Decade.

Throughout 2014, Strong was ousted from The Decade after falling out with Adam Page, Strong then fended off an attack from Page and Whitmer to set up a match for Final Battle, and as a result, becoming a fan favorite once again. Strong competed in his first match as a fan favorite on the November 8 episode of ROH Survival of the Fittest Night One, defeating Caprice Coleman.

Following the ROH/NJPW events, Strong set his sights on the ROH World Championship. At Best in the World, Strong defeated Michael Elgin and Moose in a three-way match to become the number one contender to the ROH World Championship. Strong received his title match at Death Before Dishonor XIII, challenging Jay Lethal (also the ROH World Television Champion), but was unsuccessful as the match went to a 60-minute time-limit draw. After failing to capture the title, Roderick Strong began campaigning for a match against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, the only one of the top three NJPW talents (alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura) he had yet to wrestle. Okada accepted the challenge, setting the two up for a match at Field of Honor, where Okada was victorious. Strong finally received a rematch with Lethal for the ROH World Championship on the August 21 episode of ROH Wrestling, but was defeated. Strong continued to be unsuccessful in his endevaours, as he lost a number one contenders match at All Star Extravaganza VII, losing to A. J. Styles in a four-way match (along with Adam Cole and Michael Elgin). Despite his recent misfortunes, Strong continued to feud with Jay Lethal, where he was announced as being the partner of A. J. Styles and ACH in a "Champions vs. All-Stars" elimination match at Glory By Honor XIV against Lethal and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett). In the lead-up to the match, Strong earned a match for Jay Lethal's ROH World Television Championship on the first night of Glory By Honor XIV on October 23. Strong was successful in the match, capturing the TV title for the second time.[25] Being a champion, Strong was placed on the Champions team with Lethal and the Kingdom against the new All-Stars team (after Styles and ACH had both been injured the previous night), turning the six-man tag team match into an eight-man tag team match. Strong's team was victorious, with Strong and Lethal being the only two remaining in the match. After the match, Strong had a stare-down with both Styles and Lethal.

After being injured during the Survival of the Fittest tournament, Strong issued an open challenge for the upcoming Final Battle pay-per-view event, which was accepted by Bobby Fish, who had defeated him in a match on September 12. On December 18, the first night of the event, Strong retained the title against Fish. During the match Strong submitted to Fish, but the referee did not see, and the match continued. Strong once more turned heel after hitting Fish with a Sick Kick to win. The following night, Strong solidified his heel turn by defeating ECW alumni Stevie Richards.

On June 22, 2016, ROH announced that Strong would be leaving the promotion following the June 25 television tapings.[28] June 24 at Best in the World '16 Roderick Strong lost to Mark Briscoe after a pair of fisherman suplex drivers/brainbusters. The following day, June 25, his last day at ROH, Strong was defeated again by Dalton Castle, who had just lost his TV title challenge against Bobby Fish at Best in the World. Although taped in June it did not air until July 15th.

In 2006, he formed a stable in TNA with Austin Aries and Alex Shelley. In February 2006, he and Aries were both suspended for two months for arriving four hours late for the pay-per-view TNA Against All Odds 2006.[29] He returned to TNA in April 2006, but was released shortly thereafter.

On August 10, 2010, Strong returned to TNA, defeating local worker Jamil Patel in a tryout dark match.[30]

Strong made his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) debut on February 12, 2005, losing to Ricky Reyes. On December 16, Strong and Jack Evans defeated 2 Skinny Black Guys (El Generico and Human Tornado) to become number one contenders to the PWG World Tag Team Championship. They challenged champions Super Dragon and Davey Richards on March 4, 2006, in a losing effort. Throughout 2006, Strong won numerous singles matches and made his Battle of Los Angeles tournament debut. He defeated Rocky Romero in the opening and Dragon Kid in the quarterfinal rounds before losing to Richards, the eventual winner, in the semifinals. On November 17, Strong teamed with Richards to defeat Super Dragon and B-Boy for the PWG World Tag Team Championship; however, Super Dragon and B-Boy regained the titles the following day.

On February 24, 2008, Strong took part in a one-night tournament to determine a new PWG World Champion. The previous champion, Low Ki, had gotten injured, forcing him to vacate. Strong was supposed to face Low Ki for the title, and thus was given a bye into the final round. The tournament (dubbed ¡Dia de los Dangerous!) final saw Strong wrestle Human Tornado and Karl Anderson in a three-way match, which Strong lost. On May 17 and 18, he entered the second annual DDT4 with Evans. They went on to defeat the teams of Scorpio Sky and Ronin and Los Luchas (Phoenix Star and Zokre) on their way to the finals, where they beat the World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen and El Generico to become champions and tournament winners. On July 6 at Life During Wartime, The Age of the Fall (Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs) defeated the team of Generico (substituting for Evans) and Strong to win the titles. The next month, Strong beat Tyler Black in singles action. He entered his third Battle of Los Angeles and was eliminated in the first round by eventual winner Low Ki.

At the 2009 DDT4 on May 22, Strong teamed with Bryan Danielson to make it to the final round for a third year in a row. They beat The Dynasty (Scott Lost and Joey Ryan) and the Motor City Machine Guns (Shelley and Chris Sabin) before losing to World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). Strong received his second PWG World Championship title shot on August 28, 2009, challenging Chris Hero, but was unable to win. That year, he also again made it to the final round of Battle of Los Angeles, losing the potential victory and vacant World Championship to Kenny Omega.

Strong in September 2013

On January 30, 2010, Strong wrestled Hero and Rob Van Dam in a three-way match at PWG's WrestleReunion 4 showcase. On April 10, he faced Richards for the World Championship, but went on to lose. On May 9, for the first time ever, Strong was unable to make it to the DDT4 finals, losing in the opening round. At Seven on July 30, Strong was beaten by Danielson in a singles match. He entered the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles and beat Paul London in the opening round before losing to Claudio Castagnoli the next day. At All Star Weekend 8 – Night Two on May 28, 2011, Strong and former partner Aries lost a World Tag Team Championship title match against The Young Bucks. Strong entered the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles and was eliminated by Eddie Edwards in the opening round. On December 10, Strong defeated the debuting Amazing Red.

On April 21, 2012, Strong teamed with PWG debutant Sami Callihan at DDT4, but again lost before making it to the semifinals. He entered his seventh consecutive Battle of Los Angeles in September, beating Drake Younger in the opening round and losing to Ricochet in the quarterfinals. At Failure to Communicate on October 27, Strong defeated Rich Swann in Swann's debut match. At Mystery Vortex, which took place on December 1, Strong teamed with Eddie Edwards and earned back-to-back tag team victories; the duo first defeated The Young Bucks in the opening match, then beat World Tag Team Champions Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno and Stupefied) in a non-title bout.

At PWG's Eleventh anniversary show, Strong defeated Adam Cole to become the No. 1 contender for the PWG World Title which was held by Kyle O'Reilly. After congratulating O'Reily for his successful title defence over Chris Hero, he then attacked O'Reilly turning heel once again. He later justified his turn by claiming he was "Tired of being the guy who has the great matches." and he was tired of being " The Gatekeeper of PWG.". In August, Strong would then enter the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Biff Busick in the first round, and would make it to the finals albeit through cheating; getting a disqualification win over A.J. Styles and getting a bye over PWG World Champion Kyle O'Reilly in the semifinals after attacking him before the match. The three-way final match, which also included Johnny Gargano, was won by Ricochet.[31] At Untitled II, Strong unsuccessfully challenged O'Reilly for the title. At the following show Black Cole Sun, Strong defeated O'Reilly in a Guerrilla Warfare match to win the PWG World Championship for the first time after goading O'Reilly into a match after O'Reilly defeated BOLA winner Ricochet in a near 30 minute match. He would make his first successful defence at From Out of Nowhere against Trevor Lee (wrestler), his second at Don't Sweat the Technique against Zack Sabre Jr. in a critically acclaimed match, and his third in a Triple Threat match against Brian Cage and Chris Hero at DDT4.[32] At Mystery Vortex III, Strong successfully defended the title against "Speedball" Mike Bailey in an open challenge and later helped The Young Bucks capture the PWG World Tag Team Championship and afterwards formed a new version of the Mount Rushmore stable with them and the returning Super Dragon.[33] On December 11, Adam Cole joined the stable.[34] On March 5, 2016, Strong lost the PWG World Championship to Zack Sabre Jr.[35] He would later cash in his rematch clause against Sabre Jr. on July 29, 2016, and lose. He followed the match with a farewell speech to signal his departure from PWG after 11 years with the promotion.[36]